Electronic marketplaces, such as those accessible via the Internet, may include a catalog of items or products available for purchase. These items may be offered as the basis for commerce (e.g., sale or trade). In one example, customers may utilize a web browser to visit a merchant's website, select an item for purchase from the catalog, and engage in a checkout process to finalize an order for the item. The merchant may operate a fulfillment network including various facilities in order to process such orders. For instance, the merchant may include a facility that prepares shipments of purchased items. A shipment carrier may acquire such shipments from the merchant and deliver the shipments to the respective purchasing customers.
While purchased items or products are typically shipped in boxes, some items or products, such as groceries, may be suited to be shipped in bags instead, such as in paper bags, plastic bags, and so-called “grocery” tote bags offered by grocery stores. In particular, many environmentally-conscious customers prefer using the tote bags, which are reusable and made of recyclable material. However, typical tote bags are not sturdy enough to ensure that the items and products inside are protected from damage during shipment. Also, the shape of a tote bag, combined with the soft material typically used to form a tote bag, make it difficult for a shipment carrier to mass-handle a plurality of bags efficiently. For example, it is difficult to stack tote bags on top of one another, hence to efficiently use limited space within a shipping container (e.g., in a shipping truck) during delivery. Further, tote bags often require careful handling by a shipment carrier, especially when it includes fragile items or products within.
While the system and method for shipping products or items in bags are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the system and method for shipping products or items in bags are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the system and method for shipping items or products in bags to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the system and method for shipping items or products in bags as defined in the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.